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Factoid

Winless Preseason

Colts, Cowboys went 0-4 in August

The Cowboys and Colts finished winless in the preseason. Should that be cause for concern?

Both of these teams have concerns, of course. The Cowboys might have the worst defense in the league. The Colts are the Sports Illustrated pick to make it to the Super Bowl, but they have offensive line issues, an average defense and no running game.

But is an 0-4 preseason in itself cause for concern?

Best I can tell is not really.

The Lions, after all, famously went undefeated in the preseason and then went 0-16 in the real games.

Picking through the old number, I see that 26 teams previously in this century have gone winless in the preseason.

Of those 26, seven won double-digit games. Seven finished with 8-8 records. And 12 finished with losing records.

So there’s a slight trend of a poor preseason being an indicator of a poor regular season, but nothing particularly significant.

Winless Preseason, Winning Records
YearTeamWLT
2005Indianapolis1420
2008New England1150
2010Chicago1150
2005Kansas City1060
2011Atlanta1060
2009Arizona1060
2010Indianapolis1060
Winless Preseason, Finishing 8-8
YearTeamWLT
2006Pittsburgh880
2002Buffalo880
2009Carolina880
2013Pittsburgh880
2007Arizona880
2012NY Jets880
2011Oakland880
Winless Preseason, Losing Records
YearTeamWLT
2002St. Louis790
2011Kansas City790
2012Miami790
2012Buffalo6100
2003Atlanta5110
2003Houston5110
2006Washington5110
2009Kansas City4120
2008Cleveland4120
2007Kansas City4120
2013Atlanta4120
2004San Francisco2140

—Ian Allan

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